The Union Hotel Theatre
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GEORGIAN THEATRE PENZANCE
On 28 February 1786 the citizens of Penzance read with interest the following snippet of information in the Sherborne Mercury:
“The
Ship and Castle Inn, Penzance, wishes to announce that an elegant theatre
is about to be built by the Manager of the Exeter Company of Comedians in
the yard behind the House.”
We do not know the exact date when the theatre was completed but it was definitely open by May 1787 as shown by this extract from the diaries of William Veale from Trevaylor, just outside Penzance. ‘Mrs. Veale and I drank tea and supp’d at Mrs. Jenkins’ in Penzance. After we viewed at the theatre The Suspicious Husband with The Agreeable Surprise. Bill: Play Mrs. Veale and Self 8s 6d.’
The man responsible for constructing and managing the theatre was Richard Hughes, originally from Birmingham. He moved down to Plymouth, married the daughter of the Manager of the Plymouth Dock Theatre, and this set him on the road to a highly successful career in theatre ownership and management. By the time of his death in December 1814 he was revered as the ‘Father of Provincial Drama’ and was owner/manager of the Saddlers Wells theatre in London as well as the theatres in Weymouth, Plymouth, Exeter, Guernsey, Devonport, Truro and Penzance. Each theatre was open for several months of the year and Mr. Hughes’ Company of Players moved from one theatre to the next to perform their repertoire.
After Mr. Hughes death his son John took over the management of the Theatre for some time but when he became heavily involved in London through his purchase of Vauxhall Gardens the control of the Penzance Theatre passed to a succession of other actor-managers – Mr. Fisher, Mr. Osbaldiston, and finally James Dawson, who managed it to the end.
187 Playbills for the Penzance Theatre have been traced to date from 1787 to the final performance on 10 January 1831. They show a marvellous variety of performances and apart from Shakespeare include patriotic pieces like John Bull, and An Englishman’s Fireside, melodrama, opera, comic operas and songs, circus acts and shows by child prodigies. As the years went by the performances became more and more spectacular with falling rocks, torrents of water, hogsheads of fire, smoke, thunder and lightning and other sensations being much in demand.
Several who appeared at Penzance became well-known actors on the London stage, including the famous Cornish tenor Charles Incledon, who performed at Covent Garden for many years. However, undoubtedly the most famous actor to appear there was the great Edmund Kean. In his early days he was a member of the Exeter Company and therefore probably played several times at Penzance. A Playbill of August 1828 showed that he definitely appeared at the Theatre as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in his last tour of the South West. Interestingly it was the Penzance Players who took part in the earliest recorded foreign tour by an English Company when in June 1812 they went out to entertain Wellington’s troops in Portugal and Spain, where they were fighting Napoleon.
The theatre itself was a simple rectangle 60 feet by 29 feet with a stage 21 feet deep, and was painted blue and white. At its peak it held 500 people for the more popular performances but this was extremely overcrowded conditions. In the same space modern theatre regulations would probably limit the audience to around 200.
Audiences started to dwindle in the 1820s as public opposition to theatrical performances grew throughout the provinces, mainly in line with the increase in Methodism. The Penzance Theatre was finally forced to close in 1831 along with many other provincial theatres which closed about this time. The Penzance Theatre was dismantled in 1839 and the building put to alternative uses – billiard hall, temporary Masonic Lodge, meeting rooms, ice-house, furniture storage, workshops, even a Brownie headquarters. The most serious change came in 1881 when the roof was lowered six feet. The building has deteriorated somewhat with the passage of time so that all that is now left of the original theatre is its stage (mercifully still in tact), part of the boxes and gallery and various re-used components such as the decorated pillars used to support the gallery, box handrails, stairs and proscenium arch door etc. Nevertheless sufficient remains of the old theatre to be able to state how it used to look with a very high degree of certainty with the first attempt at reconstructed drawings and although these may be subject to amendments as additional information becomes available they can be proved even now to be substantially correct.
The Friends of the Georgian Theatre Penzance
There is one fully restored Georgian Theatre in the country at present and that is at Richmond in Yorkshire. Apart from that the theatre at Penzance is probably the only eighteenth century theatre left in the whole of the United Kingdom that is still capable of being restored. Furthermore, if it were to be faithfully restored it would then be the oldest theatre in the country, since it is one year older than Richmond.
It was the realisation of the importance of this theatre to our cultural heritage that led to the formation of the Friends of the Georgian Theatre Penzance on 27 April 1986. The aims of this Association were defined as follows:
“To restore the Georgian Theatre Penzance to its original condition as a fully operational live theatre for the benefit of the Town, the Country and the Nation”.
Since this time the Friends have cleared the theatre of the accumulated rubbish and debris of the years, have stripped away much of the 19th and 20th century additions and alterations and have researched the history of the theatre and its place in the society of Penzance.
They are now seeking to raise the finance for a feasibility study, the results of which will be:
(i) A detailed set of reconstructed drawings of the theatre as it was when first built.
(ii) An accurate assessment of the cost of restoring the theatre to its original condition with whatever modifications are necessary to comply with modern building and fire regulations etc.
(iii) A market survey to establish the commercial viability of such a theatre in Penzance in the twenty first century.
Thereafter, providing the market feasibility study is favourable, it is then the intention to proceed to a national appeal for funds and then to reconstruct the theatre.
This is an ambitious project but we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to preserve a vital part of our national cultural heritage. If this opportunity is not grasped quickly it is likely to be gone forever since the structure is deteriorating rapidly. The support of the public, both moral and financial, is badly needed. If you are able to help in any way or if you want more information please contact us.
